The Body in the Morgue
by CallMeHannah
Summary: When Jim's house is found on fire, the team must deal with the difficulties of finding the truth... Thanks for reading. :) This story is set after the season 3 finale, if you haven't seen it, please be aware of spoilers. If you see any spelling or grammar mistakes, please tell me so I can correct them.
1. Chapter 1 - The Fire

**A/N: Thank you for taking time to read this, it means a lot...really! If you would like to review this, please do, any criticism or advice is welcome.**

Smoke billows into the sky, thick and relentless as the fire crackles beneath it. The Florida Fire Department had been alerted to the house fire about half an hour ago, and now tackle the blaze. No-one had been in or around the property, as they have still to assess the ongoing damage. The medical examiner had been called, although not because they had found a body, his intern arriving just a few moments later. They now stand before the blaze, their shock felt through their silence. Jim Longworth is in there.

The Fire Chief joins them, his face dirty with smoke residue.

"We haven't found anyone yet, Dr Sanchez," he updates the pair, making them grow with worry. He turns to his troops, who are still tackling the blaze, "Get two hoses around the back!" he shouts at them.

Their reply is muffled by a small explosion in the front room, two men address it immediately.

"You think they'll find him?" Daniel asks, when the Chief leaves.

"I hope so," Carlos replies, but his tone is doubtful.

They had been there only a matter of minutes before Carlos had called Jim's fiancée, Callie. She was still in Atlanta, finishing medical school and would be moving back to Palm Glade as soon as she could. Jim had been counting down the days, even the hours, until she returned. When she found out about the fire, she had insisted that she would be there in an hour or so. She had to be there.

Two minutes later, Captain Colleen Manus arrives at the crime scene, she is surprisingly concerned for Jim's welfare, despite her well known despise of him.

"Have they found him yet?" is her first question.

"No, not yet," Carlos shifts subtly.

"Does his fiancée know?"

"Yes," Daniel adds, before the three subside back into silence.

Manus walks off, determined to find the Fire Chief, although her search is short lived.

"Excuse me Chief, but couldn't you get some of your men in there?" she asks.

"Pardon?" he almost double takes, "I don't think so miss, the structure is unstable, I could lose my men."

"One of my men may be in there," Manus counters, "and it's Captain," she adds for good measure.

"I'm sorry Captain, but the answer is still no, I can't risk it." He turns his back to her and continues to fire orders at his troops.

Manus shakes her head, and begins to walk back to Carlos and Daniel, when there is a call from the rear of the house.

"We have a body!"

Colleen, Carlos and Daniel race around the side of the house, to find a carbonised body in a pool of blood.

Carlos immediately gets to work assessing the human form, a few of the fire officers who had followed offered their torches, shining their beams onto the carcass.

"I don't know…" Carlos shakes his head, wiping sweat off his brow with his sleeve, "I…"

Manus puts her hand on his shoulder, "It's okay, we'll get the precinct down here." She nods to Daniel, who immediately pulls out his phone.

Suddenly, a scream cuts across the crackling of the fire. Carlos rises and runs back around the front to see Callie being held back by two firemen.

"Carlos!" She shouts when she sees him.

"It's okay, let her in," he tells the men.

They release her, and she runs to the medical examiner, hugging him.

"Have you…found…him?" she asks between sobs.

"No," Carlos steadily replies, "but we will."

She moves away, not liking his tone, "What is it?" she asks, steadier than before.

He doesn't reply.

"Carlos…" she begins.

"We've found a body."

It was enough to send her into hysterics, falling to her knees, sobbing.

"We don't know if it's him," the medical examiner tries to calm her down, "Callie please…"

She subsides as Daniel races towards them, out of breath; he tries to regain his composure.

"They're asking your permission to move the body, is it okay?" He pants.

Gently, Carlos nods, but before the intern leaves, he stops him. "Tell them to be careful and to take photos and samples before the body's moved."

Daniel nods before beckoning the ambulance crew to follow him.

"Come with me," Carlos tells Callie, "You don't need to see this."

"Where are we going?" she asks.

"The best place for you right now is the precinct," he replies, placing his arm around her.

He leads her to his car and leaves her in the passenger seat before returning to the house, where the fire had significantly subsided. The gurney is rolled away from the property to an ambulance.

"Hey!" Carlos calls to a paramedic, "Can you take those to the police station?"

"Sure," she replies respectfully.

"Thanks."

At the precinct, Callie sits in Jim's chair, his desk a total mess. Through the door, she could see the whole homicide department in disarray. She still clutches the cup of coffee Carlos gave her, the beverage had long since gone cold and remained un-sipped, she didn't know what to do. _What would she do without him? How would she cope with…?_ _Never mind_, as Carlos had told her on the car journey to the station, _it still has not been confirmed that the body is Jim's, it can't be him. Any moment now, he's going to walk through the front door…_

The door opens, and Daniel walks in, he gives her a faint, sympathetic smile before carrying on to find Carlos.

The carbonised body lies on the stainless steel table, Carlos standing in the corner, his arms crossed.

"I'm going to get analysing these samples," he tells Carlos, holding up two evidence bags, "the lab have got blood and grass samples, so they're running tests on those now."

Carlos nods silently, as if he had only heard half of a conversation. The intern carries on, trying not to disturb him. Manus also enters the room, trying not to look too concerned.

"Right, who out of you two saw Jim last?" She asks.

Carlos points to Daniel, still staring at the body. Simultaneously, Daniel raises his hand.

"He left around 6-ish, said he was going home to call Callie and catch up on some reports, but he didn't tell me what," he pauses for breath, "he seemed very happy, not at all like he was going to set fire to his own house."

Colleen is amazed by the intern's attention to detail.

"Do you want my alibi?" Daniel smiles.

In any 'normal' case, both the captain and Carlos would have joined in, but with Jim potentially on their examination table, they remain silent.

Daniel began to run diagnostics on the chemicals found in the remains of the house that had been given to him by the Chief. He took the swab and put it into the machine.

"I'm calling a precinct meeting in 5, make sure that you two get there," Colleen breaks the uncomfortable silence.

Again, Carlos nods absently.

"Should we put a missing person's report out on Detective Longworth?" Daniel asks, seemingly reluctant to ask the concentrating medical examiner.

Carlos remains stationary, but the intern goes ahead anyway, busily typing away on the computer.

Five minutes later, Colleen, Carlos, Daniel and the rest of the on-duty detectives had gathered in the conference room. Many are sat down, but the others remain standing, ready in waiting for their next order.

"As far as we know, the body in the morgue is not Detective Longworth," Manus begins, "he was last seen here around 6, and was supposedly going home to catch up on 'paperwork'. However, we all know what Jim is like, so a team is already at his hou…, well what is left of it anyway, canvassing. I want a team also canvassing local bars, Carlos and Daniel; I want you to talk to Callie, see if he phoned her or not, she knows you two, it'll male it easier for her." She pauses in thought, "tell you what, Daniel, can you see if you can get a GPS signal from his phone, we may just get lucky. Carlos, when you've finished, go back to the morgue, get working on the body, any lead is a good lead at this point. Okay, you're all dismissed."

All at once, the officers left the room, squeezing thorough the single doorway.

"Carlos," Manus stops him before he leaves, "I know that Jim is a friend of yours, and if that is him in the morgue, I'm sorry, but we all need you on this case, to find whoever is responsible," she is unusually compassionate towards him.

He nods, mumbles an apology and makes his way to Jim's office. Daniel returns to his computer to check on the diagnostics, and begins to search for Jim's GPS.

"Hey, Callie," Carlos greets her, trying to sound hopeful.

"Have you found him?" She fires back.

He shakes his head, wanting to tell her they had and that he's safe.

"Jim told Daniel that he was going to call you when he got home, did he ever call you around 6?"

"He did, and he said he couldn't talk for long, he said that he had paperwork or something. I was going to surprise him, and come home for this weekend."

Carlos smiles, knowing that Jim would have been over the moon to see her.

"Please Carlos, you have to find him," a tear falls down her cheek.

"I know…and we will," he replies, "come on, I'll take you to the break room, you'll be more comfortable there."

"I'm okay here, thanks Carlos," she grips the armrests of Jim's chair.

"Okay," with that he leaves, knowing how headstrong she is.

By orders of the captain, Carlos reluctantly returns to the morgue, he was too proud to admit that he was scared. _What if the body was Jim's? Who would replace him? _Thoughts race through his mind, but the longer he put it off, the harder it would be. It's his job to deal with the dead, and if he can't do this autopsy, then isn't fit enough to work in the FDLE. With that in mind, he quickens his pace, determined to get it over and done with. As soon as he walks in, he is met by Daniel.

"Hi," he greets shortly, "I've ran a trace on Jim's phone with no such luck, it's either switched off or…"

"Burned?" Carlos interjects.

"Yeah…" Daniel agrees.

He clears his thoughts, "okay, I need to do this autopsy," he tells the intern, his tone neutral.

Carlos begins to arrange the autopsy tray, placing various instruments on the metal tray, each one having its place. He remembers Jim asking him why he does that, and he replies if he asked him one more time, he would find a scalpel somewhere where the sun don't shine. Carlos laughs at the memoir, wondering if he'll ever share such banter with him again. He hopes so, if not for his sake, for Callie's.

He began by documenting the height and weight of the victim, 6ft 2" and 14st 9lbs. Both are a match to Jim. _Coincidence, _Carlos tells himself.

"Hey Daniel, can run a missing persons search for a 6ft 2", 14st 9lbs person?" He summons the intern.

"Sure thing," he replies.

Carlos begins to take samples from the body; the hair is singed at the edges and difficult to manoeuvre around. He took several strands of hair, all close to the roots, hoping that they could extract some DNA. He works in silence, methodically taking each element of the autopsy at a time.

The minutes pass slowly, until Daniel shatters the silence.

"Because the height and weight are so specific, I was able to find only one missing persons report," he says, "and… it's Jim."

It's too much for Carlos to take in, he shakes his head, "It can't be…" he repeats over and over, "no, I don't believe it."

"I'm sorry Carlos, I triple checked…" Daniel subsides into silence, he too not wanting to believe it, "but who's going to break it to Callie?"

"There's still a chance that it's not him, we need to get these samples to the lab, maybe this person hasn't been reported yet, it's only been a couple of hours since the fire." Carlos reminds him, "let's get to work."


	2. Chapter 2 - Reality

Callie hadn't realized that she had fallen asleep until she heard Jim's alarm clock go off in his office, and the significant time jump. The sun outside his window has begun to rise. She hopes that it's all just a bad dream, and Jim will soon walk in, laughing at some un-funny joke he had just made up. But he doesn't, and he probably won't. It isn't like her to think negatively, but with all that has gone on, she cannot help doing so. She hadn't even thought about Jeff, how was she going to tell him? He thought the world of Jim, and Jim respected him in return. She _loves_ him, but what can she do? So far, she had received nothing, nor word nor hair of him…it just wasn't like him to just disappear, well like this anyway. She can still feel his presence in his office, the smell of his aftershave and his shampoo, whatever happens, good or bad… she will not give up on him. With that, she rises, determined to do her best, she remembers the first place they shared a non-professional meeting, the bar. That is where she'll start.

In her office, Manus rolls a coin over and over again through her fingers. She was at a crossroads, as soon as Daniel had mentioned the word 'paperwork', she knew what he was up to, and it was nothing to done with his upcoming nuptial. He had been on assignment, with another precinct, something undercover, need to know, on the hush hush, but however she put it, it may have been the reason he is possibly the body in the morgue. She hadn't been in touch with Captain Martin Burbeck in a while as he had been following another case and his precinct was unreachable, and secret. Even she hadn't been aware of it until a month ago, and as Longworth was her best detective, she had sent him over, although not 100% sure about his discretion on the case. The details were sketchy, and she is convinced that the fire had destroyed all the files; the fire could have been a threat to stay away or to destroy evidence and ultimately killing the lead detective. There aren't many convicted arsonists in the area, and none of them have been involved in anything to do with Longworth lately. Her previous requests for a copy of the file had been denied, every time by Burbeck. _Maybe this time he'll listen,_ she thinks as she picks up her phone. She starts to feel the pangs of guilt, if it is the case that has got him killed, it's on her.

There is a knock on the door at the morgue, Carlos looks up to see the Fire Chief standing outside. With his hands deep in the burns victim, he signals with his head to invite him in. The Chief, who was used to the smell of burned flesh, gladly walks in a paper file in his hand.

"I have the report for you, I pushed it through, knowing the circumstances, " he smiles, his moustache rising with his upper lip.

"Thank you, errm, sorry I didn't catch your name," Carlos replies.

"Chief Simon Weir," he introduces himself, "have you had any luck identifying the victim?"

"No, not yet, just waiting for results from the crime lab, we appreciate you pushing the report through."

"Anything to help," he replies.

"So, did you find what the cause of the fire was?"

"In fact, we did," Weir opens the file, "we found traces of petroleum beside the front window, so we predict that the assailant poured it through the open window and lit a match. Besides that, we can trace the formula make-up of the petroleum to find out where it came from, hopefully narrowing down your pool of suspects."

"Thanks Simon, we'd really appreciate that," Daniel interjects, before yawning.

The pair had been working all night, wishing for that one piece of evidence to let them know that Jim is alive, however, this evidence is proving to be very elusive. Simon places the file on the side and leaves.

"Can he really trace the petroleum?" Daniel asks.

"Let's hope so," Carlos replies, "have the lab finished with any of their tests yet?"

"In fact," Daniel opens up an email, "yes, they have found traces of an expensive type of gravel near both the front and rear of the house."

"What is it?"

"It's been identified as Sonoma Gold, fancy," Daniel reads, "They didn't put 'fancy', but I…" he trailed off as he reads Carlos's face, "anyway, that should narrow it down."

There is another knock at the door, and this time, it's Manus.

"The other officers have returned," she informs them, we're having another meeting in 5."

The pair nod, and update their captain on their findings. She's pleased with their work and their commitment, but she cannot tell them about her phone call with Burbeck, not yet anyway. Knowing what is best, she leaves. Carlos has done all he can for now, all samples have been collected and all X-Rays have been taken, all they can do now is wait, the most painful process in the entire world.

"You think Callie should come to this meeting?" Daniel asks.

"She should know what we do," Carlos agrees, "she should be in Jim's office, I'll go and see."

Entering the bar, a whole load of emotions and memories flood back to Callie, like a dam has been opened. The bar quiet with a low hum of people eating breakfast, she didn't feeling like eating, and she knows she should, but she can't face it. The table that they sat at is free, so she makes her way over. She remembers his words, his tone of voice, his cheeky smile, everything that she loves about him. A waiter approaches, but she kindly declines his services, she was only there for one thing. Answers.

"So far, we have had no sightings of Jim," Manus speaks clearly but coldly, the room is silent, "none of the bars that have been visited had seen Jim last night. Unfortunately, we have resorted to sending Jim's photo and information to Palm Glade's hospitals and morgues. I don't want to say this, but if nothing comes up by the end of the day, we have to assume that the body found at the house is Detective Longworth. Until then, we have a duty to find him, I know you are all tired, so the officers on the day shift will take over, and the rest of you can go home for a well-earned rest."

The weary officer mumble a range of compliments and 'thank you's to their captain, before returning to their desks, walking single file out of the room.

"Carlos, Daniel, can you wait a moment please?" Manus stops them, "We need to talk."

"Of course," the pair chorus in reply.

The three sit down at the table, leaning back in their chairs, not in comfort but in exhaustion.

"Have you spoken to Callie yet?" Manus begins.

"Not since the fire," Carlos replies.

"Okay, well what I am about to tell you cannot leave this room."

The medical examiner and intern nod.

"Jim was on a special assignment, for another precinct," she admits, "I don't know the full details, but he may have been targeted because of the nature of the case."

Carlos and Daniel both lean forward in interest, their exhaustion leaving them.

"Before you interrupt," she can see the anticipation on their faces, "I have contacted the captain of said precinct, and he had declined to release this information as we have, and I quote, 'have no proof of Detective Longworth's whereabouts or evidence that his disappearance is anything to do with the case'."

"The b…" Carlos begins.

"Don't, Dr Sanchez, I tried to reason with him, but he wasn't interested."

"So what do we do now?" Daniel asks.

"We carry on," Manus replies simply, "The lab will soon be finished with their tests and will be sending us the results soon. So let's keep going."

**A/N: Many thanks to those who have got this far. I will try and update the story as quick as I can, however much schoolwork will try to intervene. **


	3. Chapter 3 - Promises to Ashes

It is an email that sends the whole precinct into disarray, the news they never want to hear. Jim may not be missing anymore, the blood found at the crime scene…was his.

"There is no mistake," Carlos adds when they confront Manus on the news.

"Okay," she didn't want this to happen, it is difficult to take in.

"Do you want me to tell Callie?" Carlos asks.

"No, she deserves a full explanation from me," Manus sighs, "You two carry on, we need to catch the son of a bitch who did this."

Manus picks up the phone as Carlos and Daniel leave. However many times Manus had broken the news of their loved ones death to many families over the years of her

service, this is definitely going to be the hardest. She knew that they had been planning a life together, one which they will never have. Callie's phone goes to voicemail, so Manus leaves her a message, just to call her back as soon as she could.

"Daniel," Carlos calls him over, "what did you say that gravel was called?"  
"Sonoma Gold," he replies, "Why?"

"How many people do you think in Palm Glade could have access to it?"

"Not many, I mean, it's quite pricey. You thinking of getting a warrant to search for all the people who own it?"

Carlos nods a reply.

"Cool, I'll get one written up now for you," the intern obediently replies, and sets off to work.

The email has begun to spur Carlos on, to find what has happened to his friend, despite the fatigue. He couldn't just sit and twiddle his thumbs anymore, it was time for action. For the moment, the only thing that he can do is write up the autopsy report, until the ball really starts to roll. He had assessed the victim, even though the height and weight matches Jim's profile, he's not convinced. _The smallest details are the most important, _he'd once been told, and he still lives by that prophesy every day; today is no exception.

"I've got the warrant typed up!" Daniel beams, showing his mentor, obviously pleased with his handiwork.

"That was quick," Carlos is surprised by his Daniel's speed typing.

"Well, we all want to find who did this," Daniel smiles faintly, no-one had really taken much notice of him, and how the current events have been affecting him.

"Take it to Manus to get it signed," he gives the intern a pat on the back as he walks past.

They both just want it to be over, to find the truth and move on…if they can.

Callie waits for Jeff; he should be finishing football practice in a minute or so. Still, she has no plan about how she is going to break the news to him, does she tell him head on, or does she try to 'sugar-coat' it? _Sugar-coating it will just make it worse, _she decides, _it always did. _The 14 year old runs towards her carrying a football that he got from Jim, he's smiling, beaming in fact, despite a large graze on his knee.

"Hi mum, I didn't know you'd be home so soon. Where's Jim?" he beams, but as he grows closer, he automatically knows that something is wrong, "what is it?"

"I'll explain in the car," she replies simply, trying not to let her emotions show at the mention of his name.

They walk past all of the other parents picking up their kids, all the children hugging their mums and dads. She tries to blank it out, the images…

"Missing?!" Jeff repeats after his mum, "What do you mean?"

"There was a fire…at his house," she tries to explain without crying.

"Are the cops looking for him? Do they know who did it?"

"Yes, but they don't know who?"

"Have they checked the lake?"

"What lake?"

"He took me shooting there once, we had a great time, but he said that if he needs to clear his head, he goes there."

"I didn't know about…" she pulls her phone from her pocket, "they need to know about this."

She forgot that she had turned it off before, and when she turned it back on, there was a voicemail message and a text.

She listens to the voicemail from Manus. Immediately after it ends, she calls her back.

"Hi Captain, it's Callie," she greets, "sorry, I've only just got your message."

"Callie, you need to come in, there has been a development in the case," her tone was concerning, almost reluctant to tell her.

"Jeff's just told me about a place Jim might be, a lake somewhere in the swamp " Callie continues, not really noticing the tone of Manus's voice, "can you send some officers there or something 'cause Jeff says…"

"Callie," Manus interjects quickly, "I need to talk to you face to face."

That sent the alarm bells ringing, "Why?"

"I'll see you in 10," Manus orders her and then hangs up.

Callie stares at her phone, the alarm bells are going hysterical now.

"What it is?" Jeff asks when he notices a tear fall down his mum's cheek.

"We're going to the precinct," she tells him, then she starts the car.

"Lake in a swamp?" Carlos replies to Colleen, "No, he never mentioned it to me."

"Well Jeff seems to think that it's very important, if he knows the way, I want you and Daniel to take him with a few officers, see if he's been there _lately._" She orders him.

"You think that he's still alive?"

"I'm not fully convinced," Manus replies, "something's just not right."

"What are you thinking?"

"You know that _thing_ that I told you about," when he nods, she continues, "Captain Burbeck refused to send me the file. If they still don't want this to leak out, they aren't even telling me, they must think that Jim is still alive."

"Can you arrange something with this guy, tell him that we'll keep it secret, anyway, someone's dead because of this case, they have to co-operate with us now."

"You take Jeff to this lake, I'll straighten this all out."

As soon as Jeff and Callie enter the precinct, they are split up; Callie is taken straight into Manus's office, whilst Jeff to the conference room.

"What's up Dr Sanchez?" Jeff greets, "Are you gonna find Jim?"

Carlos swallows hard, "Yeah, we will, but you know what I want to know?"

"Where he is?" Jeff guesses.

"That, and we have been asked to go to this lake that you mentioned, you know the way?" Carlos replies.

"Sure do," Jeff answers, rolling up his sleeves, "we going there now?"

"Yes, and Daniel is coming with us too," Carlos smiles.

"Cool, I just need to ask my mum."

"Captain Manus will tell her, don't you worry," Carlos stops him before he reaches the door.

"Okay," Jeff replies, sounding a little unsure.

Daniel pushes through the door, almost hitting the boy.

"Sorry," he apologises, "got the equipment Carlos."

"Great, we can get going," Carlos smiles.

"There has to be some mistake," Callie tells the Captain, "are the results conclusive?"

"I'm afraid so, but there is something else you must know, Jim was working for another precinct," Manus admits, "we think that this case has something to do with the fire…and the body found at the house." It was difficult for Manus not to say 'murder', after all, their precinct specialises in homicides.

"What precinct?" Callie counters.

"It deals with corruption and things like that. I don't know the full case details but a lot of it has been kept under wraps. We think that the fire was triggered to destroy the files he was working on."

"What about evidence at the crime scene?" Callie continues to pursue, "I mean haven't you found anything there?"

"The only anomaly that we have found at the crime scene is a type of rock called Sonoma Gold, and we know that Jim doesn't have any of that lying around his house."

"So what happens now?" she asks, almost silently.

"We carry on, following this and bring whoever is responsible to justice," Manus replies confidently, "Your son has given us a new line of enquiry, we are already have a warrant for all those in Palm Glade who have this gravel, and the fire department are helping us out by finding where the petroleum used in the fire came from. We have good leads Callie, and we won't give up on Jim, I promise."

As they approach the swamp, the three can hear the hissing of nearby crocodiles.

"Stay away from the edge," Carlos advises, "these buggers can give you a nasty bite if they feel like it."

"They can do a lot worse than a 'nasty bite'," Daniel adds, he quietens down when Carlos sends him a disapproving glance.

"I know," Jeff replies, "there are a lot of reports of people being eaten by them."

"Thanks for reassuring me," Daniel replies, keeping as far away from the water's edge as he possibly can.

"Are we getting close?" Carlos asks.

"Yeah, it's just a bit further down," Jeff answers, pointing in front of them, "I hope he's there. He took me shooting when my dad didn't. I like him."

The three subside into silence, neither Carlos nor Daniel knew about Jim's close relationship with Jeff.

"We're here…whoa, what's that?" Jeff points his finger out in front of him again.

**A/N: Thank you for all the kind reviews that I am receiving, they really mean a lot and keep me writing. It's nice to know that this is being enjoyed by fellow Glades fans. Thanks again. :) CM14**


	4. Chapter 4 - The Phoenix

"Daniel, is that what I think it is?" Carlos asks.

"If you mean a gun, then yes," Daniel responds, "correction, a gun with blood on it."

"Good."

"Is it Jim's?" Jeff asks.

"Bag it, will you Daniel?"

"Sure," the intern obediently follows the order.

Daniel pulls three pairs of latex glove out of his box, along with an evidence bag.

"Blood on the gun? JIM!" Jeff runs over to the weapon, and continues to shout his name, "He has to be nearby, JIM!"

"Jeff," Carlos follows him, trying to coax him back, "Keep your voice down, you don't want to spook the crocs do you?"

Daniel's phone begins to ring, he tries to pull it out quickly, but it's jammed in his pocket.

"Well this is going great," Carlos comments sarcastically, "right, Jeff, get back here! Daniel, pass me that bag, then answer your phone."

He receives the bag just as Jeff passes by.

"Don't run off," he tells the teenager, "just wait here. You know what your mum would do to me if you got hurt!"

Jeff remains cool and shrugs his shoulders, "Fine," he mumbles.

But just as Carlos was about to walk away, Daniel grabs her shoulder, "Wait," he mouths, "uh huh…okay…thanks." He ends the phone call.

"Why what is it?" Carlos asks, anxiously.

"The hair sample you sent to the lab, the DNA doesn't match the blood. The body isn't Jim's," he tells them.

Giant smiles grow across all three of their faces.

"He's alive?" Jeff asks.

"There's a chance, the amount of blood at the crime scene, it's enough to be fatal if the victim doesn't receive a blood transfusion and medical attention," Carlos explains, "if he's still alive we have to find him. I'm going to call in a search team, and sent an email to all the nearby hospitals to see if they have anyone matching his description in their ER. I know his profile has already been sent, but it's just to make sure they're on the look out."

"They said that they hadn't got enough for an ID, but they have narrowed down the victims profile as a Caucasian woman," Daniel informs them.

"Call Manus, tell her everything," Carlos tells him, "Jeff, I've got a job for you. Be careful where you step, but try and see if you can find a blood trail, if you find a drop of blood put one of these beside it." He begins to route through Daniel's box, pulling out several small yellow flags attached to thin pieces of wire.

Jeff nods and quickly sets to work, being very cautious as to where he places his feet.

"Got one!" He shouts.

"Can you keep your voice down!" Carlos quietly shouts at the boy.

"Sorry," he responds, and places a flag beside the crimson liquid.

"Right, thank you Daniel," Colleen puts the phone down.

Callie leans forward expectantly.

"Good news, the body in the morgue isn't Jim."

Callie sighs in relief and begins to cry in relief, "have they found him?"

"No, there was a substantial amount of blood at the crime scene, so he's injured. They've found more of his blood at the lake, and his gun. It's a good thing that Jeff told you about that place. His profile's been sent to the nearby hospitals, we'll find him."

A smile crosses Callie's face. They may have a future after all.

"Now we have to figure out who is in our morgue."

The thought hadn't crossed Callie mind before as to who was at Jim's house at the time.

"Can I look at the remains?" Callie enquires.

"'Course, go ahead, I need to make a phone call to a certain Captain," Manus replies, "I think we could all use an explanation."

Since the phone call, officers from the precinct had joined Carlos, Daniel and Jeff in the swamp, combing through the shrubbery and thick sludge, looking for the slightest bend of a twig, a faint drop of blood. Even before they began, all of the officers had counted their lucky stars that it hasn't rained, otherwise all the evidence would have been washed away. Jeff was doing a great job of marking out the blood trail, which was heading away from the water. He carries on, determined and focusing on the job in hand. Swabs had been taken from the spots of blood, and the gun had been packed away in a sealed evidence bag, and sent away to the lab for fingerprints. Everything, so far, was going smoothly.

"Any news on the petroleum?" Daniel asks Carlos, who is wearily leaning against a tree.

"No, but it may take a while, if we focus on finding Jim now, we can worry about the 'why' later," he replies.

An officer approaches them, sweat running down the side of his face.

"We've processed the whole area Dr Sanchez, there is no sign of Detective Longworth, but the trail leads up to the road," he explains, "It's possible he's been picked up and taken to the nearby hospital, which is Palm Glade Central."

"Thanks, Daniel, Jeff and I will make a trip up there, see if we can find him. If you want, you can all go back to the precinct," Carlos replies and then he stands up straight, "Oh and before you go," he adds, "could you put up some crime scene tape. We don't want any unwanted visitors."

It is the first time that Callie had lay eyes on the victim's body, the charcoaled remains are a lot different than what she is used to, she always prefers the live ones. _Jim would've laughed at that_, she thinks, he always laughed at her bad comments or jokes. There was a light at the end of the tunnel, no matter how faint, there was a light nonetheless. Much of the flesh had been torched, and a few of the bones are visible. From what Carlos wrote in his report, he had put most of the personal information as 'unknown', it's depressing that this person has not been missed in any way. She must have someone missing her.

"Hi," Carlos greets the woman at the main desk, holding up his identification, "I'm Dr Sanchez of the FDLE, I was wondering if you had received an email regarding missing detective Jim Longworth."

"Yes," the nurse replies, "I remember, in fact we may have your guy, I was just in the process of replying."

Carlos, Daniel and Jeff smile, they can't believe it.

"A stabbing victim came in around 6 this morning, he was found on the side of the road. He'd suffered significant blood loss and has been in surgery for the past two hours."

"Is he in recovery?"

"Let me check," she begins to type on the computer, "errm…yes, I go and find a nurse from that ward."

**A/N: Sorry, me again! Just letting you know that this may be the last chapter for a couple of days, (school). I will try to update ASAP.**


	5. Chapter 5 - Reunion

Word has spread quickly that the lost detective has been found. Carlos had phoned Manus the minute they had found him, and now she is on her way to find his fiancée. Callie is still examining the remains, and when Colleen arrives at the morgue, she finds her lost in thought.

"Hey," Colleen greets her, but when she gets no answer, she has to repeat herself.

"Oh hi, Captain Manus, sorry, I was kinda out of it," Callie replies.

"We've just got word from Carlos, they've found Jim."

Callie freezes, scared of the answer to her next question, "Is he okay?"

"He's just come out of surgery at Palm Glade Central, he's been stabbed, but he's okay," Colleen explains.

"Can I…?" Callie asks, just wanting to be with him.

"Of course, go," she smiles, "oh and tell him he's in a lot of bother when he gets back."

"I will!" Callie shouts as she sprints down the corridor.

Manus leaves the autopsy room, but halfway down the corridor, she is stopped by a man in a suit.

"Yes?" She asks the stranger.

"Captain Manus, I presume," he answers, shortly.

She doesn't like his tone, "Yes and who are you?" She quickly counters.

"Captain Burbeck, may we talk in private."

"For the last time Carlos, I'm fine," Jim tells him, "it was just a small knife."

"3-4 inches isn't small Jim," Carlos informs him, "now what is your name and date of birth?"

Jim sighs, "My _full_ name is James Tobias Longworth, I was born on the 6th August 1979. I work with the FDLE after being shot in the ass in Chicago. I am engaged to…oh hang on…"

"See you're not fine," Carlos quickly interjects.

"Oh calm down Dr Sanchez, I was kidding, her name is Callie Cargill, and I proposed in Atlanta seven months ago. Happy?" Jim counters, sarcastically.

"Good, she's in her way in now. Thank God you remembered," Carlos gives in, already fed up with Jim's sarcasm and jokes, "Jeff wants to see you, you okay with that?"

"Sure, it'd be nice to see someone who appreciates my witty personality."

"Yeah if you weren't such a _completo idiota,_" Carlos fires back.

"What does that mean?"

"It's kind of self-explanatory."

Carlos disappears from Jim's sight for a moment, before the curtain opens and Jeff runs in, almost colliding with the bed.

"Slow down there sport," Jim smiles, as Jeff slides to a stop.

"Jim, we thought you were a goner," the boy races around to his side.

"Your mum really thought that?"

"I don't really know, she never let on, but I'm really glad you're okay. I went searching for you too, with Carlos and Daniel, we found you blood trail at the lake."

"Hey, you'd make a detective yet," Jim smiles, "You really thought that I was dead?"

"From what I heard, there was a body at your place, but they don't know who is yet."

"Erin," Jim replies, "She didn't get away." He wipes his good hand down his face.

"Who's Erin?" Jeff asks.

"Errm…she was helping me with.. a case, she's dead?"

"Was she a friend?"

"Not really, like I said, it was a case…"

"Jim?" Callie appears between the curtains.

As soon as he hears her voice, he smiles, "Callie."

She runs to his side and hugs him.

"I thought I'd lost you," she whispers to him.

"That'll never happen," he replies, hugging her tighter.

Jeff, knowing they want to be alone, leaves the room.

When they part, he plants a passionate kiss on her lips, her tears intertwining with his.

They part for breath, "I love you," he repeats to her, "and I always will."

"Jim, there is something that I need to tell you…"

"Is that all you are going to tell me!" Colleen fumes, "One of my guys nearly died protecting your secret, and all you can say is 'it's confidential'!"

"I don't want to walk in to your house and start giving orders, but what we are dealing with is… it's difficult to explain. If one single piece of information was leaked, the whole operation would have been for nothing. Her death would be the end of it all, and there is nothing that neither you nor I could do anything about," Burbeck replies, choosing his words carefully.

"Do you have any information that is relevant to the death of the woman in the morgue? 'Cause if not, then you should leave."

He stands, places a card on the table and leaves as swiftly as a ghost.

"Ass," Colleen whispers, after making sure that he was not in earshot.

She makes her way back to her desk, before there is another knock at the door.

"Yes?" she asks before looking up.

"Good evening, Captain," Chief Simon Weir replies, cheerfully.

"Oh hello," she answers, not as upbeat as the plump man standing at her door.

"The fire department has been running tests on that petroleum used on the property. We found a chemical make-up that matches to a gas station two miles away from the fire," he tells her.

"Thank you Chief."

"To the ground?" Jims asks.

"Yeah," Callie replies, "Sorry Jim, I didn't want to be the one to tell you this."

"No, it's just…wow," he stutters, "everything?"

She nods a reply.

"Hey, thanks for coming down here, it must've been a long drive down."

"Anything for you Jim, you know that," Callie replies.

He kisses her again, glad that they have sometime alone.

"Oh, Manus sends her regards," Callie tells him.

"Ha, for Manus, that translates as 'you're in big trouble'," Jim smiles, "Hey, where are you staying?

"The precinct, speaking of which, I should be going, you need to rest Jim, okay," Callie rises.

Quickly, Jim grabs her wrist, "Don't go," he pleads, "Can you stay?"

She shakes her head, "Sorry Jim," she apologises, "It's the rules of the hospital, now, you get some sleep, and I promise I'll be here when you wake up."

She kisses his forehead, and then leaves the room.

Outside, Jeff has fallen asleep on a chair, alongside Carlos and Daniel. Gently, she wakes her son.

"Time to go," she whispers.

Wearily, he nods and gets to his feet. It hurts her to leave, but she knows that everything will be fine, they had found him, and that is all that matters.


	6. Chapter 6 - A Rock and a Hard Place

As Jim wakes, he is confronted with the hospital's bright overhead lights. He has always hated spending overnight in hospital, but for the moment, it's just something he has to deal with. The idea of being bed-bound is also very claustrophobic for him. Like she promised, Callie is sitting beside Jim, having been there for around an hour and a half.

"Hey," she greets soothingly, "how are you doing?"

"Apart from the pain in my side, not too bad, and the fact that you are here makes me a million times better," he smiles, turning to face her.

"I'd better up your morphine," she reaches over to the remote and presses it a couple of times, the pain visibly disappears off his face.

"Thanks," he tells her, closing his eyes briefly in relief.

"Do you remember anything about what happened?" she asks softly.

"Yeah, but it's hard to explain, the woman I was… meant to be guarding… her name was Erin, she was in witness protection," Jim takes his time, "Callie, I'm sorry but I can't tell you about it, it's a high level case."

"What _can_ you tell me?" She enquires, intrigued.

He sighs, and looks her in the eye, "I can't, if I could, I would but…"

"Who was she, Jim? She's lying in the morgue right now, if you know who did this, then you should be able to arrest him, right?"

"It's not that simple," Jim replies, doubtfully, "I'm sorry Cal."

"No, you know what, I'm just glad you're okay," she answers, with a hint of annoyance in her voice. After all they had been through, she thought that he could trust her.

"Callie," Jim begins, sensing that something was amiss.

"Jim, I've got to go, I'll be back later okay," she lies.

"Okay," he says, knowing that her excuse wasn't genuine, however hard she had tried to disguise it, "If I've said something…"

"No," she interjects a little too sharply. Knowing her reply was yet another lie, she leaves quickly, thinking only the worst.

Carlos and Daniel, who had slept overnight in the chairs, woke suddenly as Callie paces past. They too knowing they have work to do, follow suite, leaving behind her.

The two cars arrive within minutes of each other at the precinct car park, Callie having no other place to go, and Carlos and Daniel, there for work. The sun was still low, casting a red glow over the horizon in the early morning. The two men head straight to the morgue, where there is a surprise in store.

"Where's the body?" Carlos asks.

Colleen arrives behind them, reluctant to let them in on the new development.

"Captain Burbeck's men came last night and took it," she tells them.

"Why?" Carlos and Daniel chorus.

"Beats me, they turned up with a warrant to seize the body, I had to let it go," she explains.

"Let me guess, it's something to do with this confidential case, isn't it?" Carlos replies.

"I guess so, and the only person in this precinct who knows anything about it is Jim."

"And he's not saying anything." Callie interrupts, "Hey, where's the body?"

Colleen explains to Callie where it has gone, to which she tries to reply, but Colleen stops her in her tracks.

"The warrant was genuine; there was nothing I could do. Did Jim say anything about this case?"

"Yeah, just her first name: Erin." Callie tells them.

"Well, let's look into this Erin, I can get a warrant for Jim's phone records, see if we can get a name there," Colleen offers.

"No point, they may have used a burner phone, Jim mentioned that it was a high profile case," Callie points out.

"If we can gather enough evidence together, we can get Burbeck in here; show him that we're intent on finding the killer and who nearly killed Longworth," Colleen responds, " Callie and Daniel, can you start taking a look at the X-rays, see if Carlos missed anything…"

"Hey, I'm standing right here you know," Carlos rudely interjects.

"I mean that you were working flat out last night, anyway, I need you to go up to this petrol station," she hands him two pieces of paper, a set of directions and a warrant.

"What for?"

"Simon Weir managed to find what petrol station the petroleum was sold from by our arsonist, this warrant allows you to get their CCTV tapes from their courtyard. Hopefully, we'll find our killer," Colleen explains, visibly proud of herself.

"I'm on it," Carlos accepts the orders and walks to the exit.

"You think that we'll find something?" Daniel asks.

"I don't know," she replies honestly.

They set to work, laying the X-rays on the light table, and begin to analyse each bone.

Jim sits in his bed, twiddling his thumbs, he hates sitting still, doing nothing. He isn't even allowed on his phone, his fingers are aching to play _Temple Run. _There is a ripple in the curtain, before a hand pulls it aside and Captain Manus appears.

"Detective Longworth," she greets him formally.

"Captain," he matches her formality, "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Callie, she said that you have mentioned something about the case…"

"Colleen, I'm sorry, but I can't say anything."

She walks to his bedside and sits down on the chair, "There is no-one here but you and me, and I'm your commanding officer," she tells him, "I put you on this case and I'm damned if I going to let you carry on with it without sharing the details," he tries to interrupt, but she carries on, "Your fiancée is very worried Jim, and I don't blame her."

"This case is sensitive," he admits, "but since we are alone, and she is dead, I will tell you the victim's name…"

"I would stop there if I were you," suddenly Captain Burbeck appears in between the curtains, "Captain Manus, do you mind if Detective Longworth and I talk in private?"

Colleen stands, clenching her fists in frustration, but she knows that she has no leverage, so she leaves silently, repeating all sorts of curses in her mind.

When she leaves, Burbeck pulls the curtains shut.

"I don't want to lie anymore," Jim starts.

"I don't want you to, but it is necessary in this case for things to be on the down low," Burbeck answers, establishing his authority by folding his arms and standing up straight.

"Erin is dead, we know who did this," Jim retaliates angrily.

"We have little evidence against him," Burbeck reasons, "We just need to wait a little longer."

"Can you at least co-operate with our precinct?" Jim asks, almost pleading, "They know how procedure works, they can help."

"I won't say this again Longworth," the Captain replies calmly, "The key to solving this case is confidentiality, we cannot trust anyone."

"You trusted me," Jim points out.

"That's different, your record speaks for itself. You knew the consequences of taking on this type of case."

"I didn't know how many lies I would have to tell, and I'm sick of it."

"You out?"

"No, but it's time to start facing the truth, you're not my Captain," Jim tells him defiantly, "It's time to get justice for Erin Cleats."

"Taking down a congressman is hard, even for the best of us," Burbeck responds, "but if this case goes to pot, then it rides on you."


	7. Chapter 7 - Fight Back

"Hey, look at this," Callie points at one of the photographic films, the one taken of Erin Cleats' skull, "multiple fractures."

A cross junction of lines run across the left side of the skull.

"Looks like these were made a few weeks ago," she observes, "What did Carlos say about this in the report?"

Daniel quickly flicks through the file until he finds the X-ray analysis.

"He said that they looks like they were made between 2 or 3 weeks ago, but the remodelling around the edges were looks like debris from the fire," Daniel responds.

"Not this looks old, it was definitely made a few weeks ago," Callie replies, confidently, "if she went to hospital, we may be able to find an ID based on this injury. Can you get hospital records from here?"

"No, but you can…" Daniel begins, but is cut off with the arrival of Captain Burbeck.

"Is Detective Longworth always this difficult?" he asks.

They stop and look at each other, not knowing exactly who this man is.

"Captain Martin Burbeck," he extends his hand, which they reluctantly shake.

"You know Jim Longworth?"

"He was working for me on a case," he explains, very briefly, "a confidential one, but he has put me in a difficult position."

"And what's that?" Callie asks.

"There is a meeting in the conference room, in half an hour, about the case, it's best if you hear it from me than Jim," Burbeck turns on his heels and leaves efficiently.

"Okay…" Daniel isn't sure of what to make of him, he is trespassing, whatever precinct he was from.

Callie doesn't like him, from how he made Jim out to be, he sounded like a traitor. Jim isn't a traitor; he would never do such a thing.

Manus suddenly knocks at the door, startling both Callie and Daniel.

"I guess that you have just met Burbeck," she asks, when they nod back, she continues, "I know, he's an ass, even more than Jim. Anyway, Carlos is on his way back with the footage, let's hope it will help."

"Okay, I'm going to go to Palm Glade Central, see if I can find our victim," Callie offers, "besides, I need to apologise to Jim."

"Well, don't forget the meeting," Manus reminds her, "I know we're all dying to know what this damn case is all about."

When Callie arrives at the hospital, where Jim was at the front desk.

"Hey, what are you doing?"

"Hi Cal, what are you doing here?"

"Jim, don't avoid my question, what are you doing?"

"I'm checking myself out," he replies nonchalantly.

"You think that's a good idea?"

"Someone is dead because of me, I have to at least do something."

"And you can't think lying down? Jim, the best thing for you right now is rest, you still need to recuperate from the stab wound."

"I'll be fine, just as long as I have some pain killers handy," he smiles bravely, although still in some discomfort.

"Right, fine, just let me look something up first," she knows the nurse behind the desk, and so she is able to access the computer records.

"You found something new?"

"Yeah, the victim suffered a blow to the head around 2 weeks ago, if we can find a woman on the database matching her description, then we can get and ID," Callie types in the details quickly.

"Hey, look at you thinking like a cop," Jim smiles, "But there's no need, I'm coming clean about all this. Her name is Erin Cleats, but I don't think she'll be in your database."

"Hang on," she adds the name to the name boxes, and presses enter, "No matches found, that's odd. An injury like that would have required medical attention, so why…"

She looks at Jim and he nods, as if reading her mind.

"C'mon, I'll tell you everything on the way back to the precinct," he holds out his hand, she takes it and squeezes it, the hurt of distrust that she felt earlier evaporates in to dust.

"We really must begin," Burbeck starts, whilst Colleen is pacing the floor, Daniel is twiddling his thumbs and Carlos is dozing in his chair, having still not recovered from his lack of sleep.

"I don't understand, she left an hour ago," Manus talks to herself, "Why isn't she back yet?"

"She said that she wanted to talk to Jim," Daniel suggests, "It's possible that they are just talking."

"He's probably just filling her in about this case, which is why we need to get started," Burbeck pushes.

"Fine, we can fill her in if Jim is still being mute," Colleen sits, though she cannot stop glancing towards the door.

"Nothing that I say can leave this room," Burbeck looks at each of them sternly, "the case concerns Congressman Thomas Cleats. We've been looking into missing funds that the congressman had accumulated, but as he has friends in high places, he's been untouchable. His wife, Erin was going to testify against him on two counts, spousal abuse and fraud. She was under Jim's protection when the fire broke out, he had a copy of the files, so we still have evidence."

"Do you have anything connecting him to the murder?" Carlos asks.

"No, I was hoping you have, since he has the only motive to kill his wife, well, from what we know anyway."

"And you didn't want us to know this because…" Colleen confronts him.

"The information is sensitive, like I said, he has friends, if one of them were to say anything, then he would just disappear, we couldn't risk it. It's only because Jim threatened to expose it that I am telling you now."

"Okay, so what do we do now? Can we get a warrant to arrest him?" Carlos enquires.

"Not yet, we need a significant piece of evidence to do so," Colleen sighs.

"What about the petrol station?" Carlos suggests.

"And the gravel?" Daniel asks, "With those we have probable cause."

Colleen turns to them, "Get on it now. I'm going to phone Callie, we need her here to help. Thank you Martin."

"I'm sorry for being cold with you earlier, you understand the difficulties with high profile cases." He stands and shakes her hand gratefully, then he leaves swiftly.

Manus pulls out her phone, and finds Callie's number in her phonebook, she presses 'call'.

Her phone vibrates, shivering between small shards of safety glass that had come from the windscreen. The windscreen had been shattered as a result of the crash, where the car lies on its roof. Callie and Jim are unconscious in the front seats, held only by their seatbelts that keep them upside down. They haven't moved in a while and blood drips down from their wounds to the roof. A hand pulls Callie's phone from the glitter like shards of glass, the thumb presses 'answer', he pulls it to his ear.

"Too little, too late…" two lips cruelly whisper down the phone.

The phone is dropped to the floor and Thomas Cleats' foot crushes it.

**A/N: Me again! Thank you so much for all the great reviews and the amount of views too! It's incredible! I will update asap. Much love, CM14. :)**


	8. Chapter 8 - Lockdown

"Callie!" Jim shouts, trying not to panic, he can't see and his hands are tied behind his back, "Callie!"

He gets no reply. _Okay Jim think, what happened?_ He remembers talking to Callie, in her car, they were talking about…the case, _yes!_, then there was a loud bang…_damn it! What happened!_ He is beginning to get frustrated, but from his training in hostage negotiation, he must remain calm. However, his judgement is a bit cloudy as he doesn't know if Callie's alive. _If it wasn't for this damn blindfold,_ he thinks. In his mind he begins to prioritize things, number one: free hands, number two: remove blindfold, third and most importantly: find Callie. He sets to work, he is bound with what feels like thick rope, it seems old and worn, pulling at it doesn't work, he tries twisting his hands, but it's too tight. He can't stand either, whenever he tries, the rope is blocked by some sort of metal pipe. He lashes out in anger, suddenly, something sharp pokes him right where he was shot in the arse four years ago. He curses, then realises that it's close enough for his hands to reach. He stretches and grabs it, at the moment, he's not bothered about what it is, but starts to cut through the rope fibres. Gradually, the fibres break, and the vice like grip on his wrists become weaker. Then, there's a snap, and the rope is cut. He scrambles to his feet, removing the blindfold as he rises, his eyes are met with the same pitch darkness he had faced seconds before, only a few lines of orange and silver, one is a large rectangle, which he presumes is the door; the other is smaller and a square, which must be a window.

Slowly, he begins to explore his prison, shuffling his feet carefully across what feels like old floorboards. The place smells, bad, and old. Deep inside, he's getting scared.

"Callie," he whispers, "you in here?"

Still, there was no reply. He has no weapon, no phone, no clue where he was, all he has is the thing he cut the rope with, which still remains in his hand. He walks towards the light, holding it out in front of him, it reflects some of the light from the doorway, it's glass…from the windscreen of Callie's car. _That's what happened…_

"I've just been through the CCTV footage of the petrol station," Carlos jogs into Manus's office, waving a piece of photo paper in his hand, "he's here. He got the petroleum from there at 9:19 pm, 20 minutes before Jim's house was torched!"

"Good work, Dr Sanchez, has Daniel managed to match the gravel to Cleats yet?"

"No, but he's working on it," Carlos replies, "Is this enough to get an arrest warrant for him, even without the gravel?"

Burbeck enters the office, silently, as if wishing to observe. Manus turns to him before replying.

"Let's hope so, let's get one issued, straight away," she commands, and with that, Carlos leaves in a hurry.

"There is something that I still don't get, if she was under Jim's protection, why didn't you have any officers outside to watch the house?" Colleen fires at Burbeck.

"I did, they must've not noticed him when he approached the property," Burbeck folds his arms defensively, "What are you suggesting?"

"The fire was ignited from the front of the house," Colleen tells him.

"I…I…well, I don't know what to say…"

"Who was on duty that night?"

"There were two officers, erm…"

They are interrupted by a man, who looks out of place next to the dated décor of the precinct. He wears a pristine jet black suit with a crisp white shirt and royal blue tie. They recognise the man whose posters had been put all over Palm Glade during the last campaign, there stands Thomas Cleats.

"Good evening, Captain Burbeck, Captain Manus," he addresses them individually and formally, "I had been hearing rumours about me, something about murder or whatnot, but I need to know have you found my _darling_ wife?"

The way he purred 'darling' sent shivers up their spines.

"Follow me, sir," Burbeck inches past the congressman and leads him to an interview room.

"Gladly," Cleats follows without a second thought.

As soon as he is out of sight, Manus sprints to the morgue, she can't believe their luck.

"Carlos," she calls.

He appears a moment later, "Yeah?" he answers.

"Cleats is here, he just turned up out of the blue," she informs him.

"Seriously? What did he say?"

"That he wanted to clear his name, Burbeck's questioning him now."

"He's either really bold or really stupid."

"I'm not stupid for doing this," Cleats replies, confidently, "I love my wife, you _do_ know this. I would do anything for her."

"Mr Cleats…"

"Please, call me Tom," he interjects.

"Okay…Tom, you wife was found dead two days ago, do you know where she went that night?"

"Yes, she went to a cop's house," he spits, "she'd been having an affair with him for a few months now."

"Do you know the name of this cop?"

"Jake…no, Jack…" he clicks his fingers, trying to remember, "Jim, that's it, but I don't know his last name. Maybe he killed her."

"Did you ever follow her to this _Jim's _house?"

"Once, it was two days ago. I know you think that the timing is suspicious; I was filling up my car, when I saw her in this blue Dodge with this guy. Well, I assume that his name is Jim because a few weeks ago, I walked in on her when she was on the phone and she said 'see you soon Jim' and she quickly hung up," Tom explains, " Look, I know that this makes me look guilty, but I did nothing to ever harm my wife."

"Complaints have been filed against you from your wife, claiming that you have beaten her…"

"I did no such thing!" Tom shouts back, no longer the diplomatic congressman, "It was probably this Jim feller!"

Manus has been watching in the observation room, she shakes her head, knowing what a big liar this man is. There is a knock at the door and Daniel enters the room.

"Captain," he addresses her, from his tone she knows something is wrong, "Callie's car has been found."

When Carlos and Daniel arrive at the scene, the Crime Scene Unit is already scouring through the shattered glass and reeds at the side of the road. There are lights that shine brightly over the wreckage and evidence cones that surround a pair of tyre skid marks about two feet from the wrecked car. Straight away, a young officer approaches them, "I'm sorry," he says, "but they're not here."

"Get photos of these to the lab straight away," Carlos orders.

"Have you checked these fields?" Daniel asks.

"We're being thorough, we haven't go halfway across yet," one uniformed officer replies.

Daniel turns to Carlos, "You think that this is Cleats' doing?"

"How long did it take us to get here?"

"About 10 minutes, why?"

"Cleats arrived at the precinct 12 minutes ago, there is no way he could have moved them far enough away from here before arriving at the precinct."

"What are you thinking?"

"Maybe Cleats is not our guy…"

"Jim, are you there?" Callie whispers, she's terrified; so many thoughts are racing through her mind, _where am I? Where is Jim? What about Jeff? What happened? Why is everything so dark?_

Her head is banging like Jeff is up there with his drum kit, she wished Jim hadn't given him one last Christmas.

"Erin," she remembers, _the case, they were talking about the case…of course, this is all of that damn congressman's fault, he's taken us because he knows. _

She knocks her head back onto the wall, vibrations are sent up the thin, woody material.

"Callie?"

There is a whisper from the other side of the wall.

"Jim?" She would recognise that voice anywhere.

"Oh, thank god it's you," Jim replies, "are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm just tied up with a banging headache, but apart from that everything's rosy. You?"

"I was, but I got out. These walls are thin…"

"Jim, could you try to break through?"

"I'm not that strong Cal," he jokes, "Ow!"

"What is it?!" She panics.

"Nothing, painkillers have worn off, that's all."

"Can you see anything?"

"Yeah, hold on, I'll be with you in a minute…"


	9. Chapter 9 - Light in the Darkness

There is a series of thuds, before everything subsides into silence.

"Jim?" Callie asks, "For god sake Jim answer me," the blindfold begins to soak up her tears.

Determined to get free, she tugs hard at the rope that bounds her hands, if Jim could do it, so can she. The rope begins to burn her skin, but that doesn't stop her, she carries on regardless of the pain. One of the knots begins to weaken, so she pulls harder and then one hand jolts free. She removes the blindfold, her eyes become accustom to the darkness, as she sets to work on the remaining rope. The pain subsides in her wrists a little, which give her a little bit of comfort, but there is now no noise from the next room. She rises and shakily moves away from the door.

Suddenly, her door creaks open, a silhouette appears in the doorway.

"Hey," the contours of Jim's are just about visible in the light.

"Jim!" She rushes at him, wrapping her arms around him, "What happened?"

"I had to break the door down," he tells her, "Sorry, I had to check no-one was around, come with me quickly."

He takes her hand and leads her into his room, as the moon is just coming into view; its light begins to reveal the dilapidated room, the wallpaper that's peeling at the edges, the rotten floorboards and the dirt encrusted radiator, with strands of rope still hanging from the pipe.

"Can you help me get this window open?"

They both rush to it, the frame's rotten from years of neglect and refuses to budge as they try to pry it open.

"It's not opening," Jim growls, then he has an idea, he turns to Callie, "Stand back," he tells her.

As soon as she is a safe distance away, he kicks the single pane of glass, which disappears in pieces out of the frame. The glass falls to the ground, which takes longer than expected. When they look out, they see puddles in the moonlight, far down below them. They're on the second floor of a cabin.

"Well, today's going great, isn't it?!" Jim tries to lighten the mood, without much success.

"What do we do now? If we jump we'll break our legs," Callie assesses the situation.

"We've only got one option," Jim replies, "we've got to go downstairs."

The pair back away from the window, they know what they have to do, but they don't like it.

Jim finds the stairs first, the rotten planks just about visible in the darkness, he still has the shard of glass in his hand, Callie takes his other hand and slowly they begin to descend, the boards creaking under every footfall. The remainder of the house is silent. Jim reaches the bottom first, quickly followed by Callie, both relieved that they didn't make too much noise in the way down. Jim peers around the doorframe.

"There are some lights on in the next room," Jim mouths to Callie. He holds his hand out, signalling not to follow her. Slowly, he makes his way into the living room, which was in a considerably better state than upstairs. The room is simple, but old fashioned, with a red oval rug on the floor, a flowery sofa, a few book cases with their shelves caked in dust and a tall lamp with a standard peach lampshade, which lit the room. Jim checks the next two rooms, before giving the all clear.

"Looks like nobody's home," he shouts, "The front door is over here!"

Callie follows the sound of his voice, and finds him beside it. The doorknob twists easily and the door swings open with the help of a gust of wind. They hold each other's hands as they leave the warmth of the cabin and enter the cold wood. He estimates that the time is after midnight, they're both worried about Jeff, but they have to think of one thing at a time. There is a slight path that has been made and recent tyre marks in the mud. They follow them, knowing that they must lead to a road, and a road leads them to people, and then the precinct.

"We have a match on those tyre marks," Daniel calls to Carlos, "What make of car does Cleats drive?"

"You haven't seen his ride? It's a Lambo, Gallardo, red, beautiful."

"Well, these were made by a Mercedes A Class," Daniel replies, "The marks also had traces of mud in them, and a pollen. Longleaf Pine to be exact."

"Is it common around here?" Carlos asks, intrigued.

"Not really, but it is found in a forest near here. How much do you want to bet that that is where Jim and Callie are?"

"Let's tell Manus, if we can get a team down there, we might be able to find them."

Daniel looks out of the window, and reluctantly shakes his head.

"Why? What is it?"

"It's two in the morning," Daniel points out, still staring out of the window, "It's too dark, she won't risk letting any of the officers getting lost in there."

"Then I guess that it's just us two then," Carlos picks up his rucksack that he had left on a bench, "Let's get going."

"You know what this reminds me of?" Callie asks as they follow the track uphill.

"What?" Jim replies, smiling for what feels like the first time in a while.

"Do you remember traipsing through the swamp looking for treasure?"

"How can I forget?" Jim laughs, "That night, you told me and I quote 'this is never gunna happen'!"

"Oh the irony," she counters, "And GPS thingy, it would just be nice if we had one right now."

"You'd be in charge of that then, if I recall correctly, you were the one who thought that we were going to die," Jim retorts, his laughter subsiding a little with the reminder of recent events.

"Yeah," Callie reminisces, "but it's all in the past now, we get out of here, go home, back to normal."

"Will it ever be the same though," Jim questions, "I mean, my house is burnt to a crisp, so I hear anyway, and you'll soon be back in Atlanta."  
"Only for a few months, Jim," she reminds him.

"I know but still… you won't be here," there is a tone of disappointment in his voice.

"We'll make it work, we always have and we always will," Callie replies, confidently, squeezing his hand.

He squeezes back, feeling like his old self once more, pushing the remaining pang of pain away. _It will return back to normal…_


	10. Chapter 10 - The Foe in the Friend

"I'm telling you I heard someone."

"Jim, we've been walking for hours, and you've said that about 70 million times."

"I mean it, there is something out there…"

"And you've said that about ooh, 30 million times, just face it Jim, we're lost, it's cold, dark and we're lost."

"Hey Carlos, did you hear that?"

"What?"

"I swear I just heard someone speak…"

"Callie, there is someone there, I know there is, HELLO?!"

"Jim! Shut up, what if that is our kidnapper?"

"I have this," he holds up the shard of glass.

"And what are you going to do with that?"

He tosses it in the air and catches it with the same hand, then shrugs, "I'll improvise."

"Now, I know you heard that!" Daniel retorts, smugly.

"Alright, fine, I concede the point," he holds his hands up, "JIM, is that you?!"

"Carlos?"

Jim and Callie appear from behind a thinly branched bush, relief floods their faces when they see the Medical Examiner and his Intern.

"Oh, thank god!" Jim smiles, "See, I told you someone was there," he jokes.

"Man, you two are even arguing like an old married couple," Daniel buts in.

Both Jim and Callie raise their eyebrows at him, he smiles back.

"We found Callie's car," Carlos tells him

"Where is it?" She interjects.

"Crime scene unit, we found it at the side of the road, it's been written off for definite."

"Well, today's going brilliant isn't it?"

"Hey, what about mine?"

"It was untouched by the fire," Carlos replies.

"Hey, speaking of which," Callie adds, "Any chance you could take us to the precinct?"

Manus has returned to her office, knowing that both that Jim and Callie are safe and returning to the precinct. The phone call from Carlos was long but informative; they have figured it out. Now she's writing out an arrest warrant for the killer. However much she dislikes Jim, she has to hand it to him, he's gone through a lot but he solved it… with Daniel's help. The lab are already running tests on the samples from the tyre and the soil at the forest where Jim and Callie had been taken. Financials should be able to prove that he did it, they have him corned with nowhere to go. He's waiting out there now, no idea with what is about to hit him. She smiles to herself, she should have seen it before, the obvious signs that she had not seen nor acted upon. This is getting even, but before she can do anything just yet, she will wait for them, let Jim see for himself the realisation on the killer's face when he knows that they have figured it out. Who drives a Mercedes A-Class? Who has a connection between both cases? Who refused her request for another case file? They are both going down.

There is a subtle knock at the door, and Captain Burbeck walks in.

"How long is this going to take?" He asks impatiently.

"Not long," she replies, trying not to give anything away.

"It's taking a lot to stop him lawyering up," he snaps, "just hurry up will you."

He exits and slams the door behind him.

_Oh, I'll be glad when he's finally behind bars, _Manus smiles.

"Finally," Burbeck snatches the piece of paper off Manus, and begins to read it.

Jim, Callie, Carlos and Daniel watch him as his eyes scan down the page, and then they widen in surprise.

"Wait a minute," he stutters, "my name is on this… for murder?"

"That's right," Jim replies casually, to which the others smile.

"What are you talking about?" He retaliates.

"You're Cleats' sidekick, you were blackmailing him."

"This is madness!"

"No, it's not, see we took samples off your tyres, turns out it's a match to a number of things, the tyre treads found beside Callie's exploded car, the pollen found at the same scene and the gravel at Jim's house," Daniel comes back, "You didn't think that we wouldn't find out, did you?"

"Put your hands behind your back, Burbeck," Manus orders, "let's not make this more difficult than it is."

He knows he's been beaten at his own game, but despite his secret being uncovered, he complies, turning his back towards Manus, where she slaps the cuffs on him.

"It's a shame," Jim states, "Seeing one of our own going down for murder."

"And blackmail…and arson…oh, and obstruction of justice too…" Daniel adds, enjoying himself a little, "Yeah, we know that the missing funding was going straight into your bank account, all you had to do was threaten his wife and he'd do anything you said."

Colleen leads him down to the corridor, Jim turns to the rest of the team, "Drinks are on me," he tells them.

"Jim, we should be getting home, Jeff will be wondering where we are," Callie interjects.

"Oh, about that, the fire chief, Simon Weir, he structurally evaluated your house, the front of the house was the most damaged, but the back isn't too bad," Carlos informs them, "Most of your possessions should be okay."

"So, what's the plan?" Callie asks Jim.

"We'd better go and buy a few pots of paint," he briskly smiles.

**A/N: Thank you for so much, it's amazing to see so many people from different countries reading this. I would also like to thank all the people who have reviewed this and given me advice and corrections; which I will address immediately. I can't thank you enough, hopefully, another story will be posted soon as this one has been quite a success. Love, CM14. xx**


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